As Expected: Nu 27, Minnesota 17

Everybody Gets In Nu Victory Act

Defense Throttles Gophers

Autry Keys Offense's Surge

October 15, 1995|By Bill Jauss, Tribune Staff Writer.

MINNEAPOLIS — Stop Chris Darkins on the run. Then swarm quarterback Cory Sauter on the pass.

That was Northwestern's defensive game plan Saturday night, and it worked almost to perfection as the Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) beat Minnesota 27-17 and remained alone atop of the Big Ten Conference standings.

Five wins isn't much for most teams, but it marked the first time Northwestern had hit that mark since the Mike Adamle team of 1971. However, getting to 6-1 will be tougher because NU faces Wisconsin on Saturday in what figures to be its biggest home game in a generation.

Wildcats coach Gary Barnett praised his players for coming back from a 14-3 deficit, from Paul Burton's blocked punt, from a 3-yard punt and from Darnell Autry's first fumble of the year.

"This is a hard place to win," Barnett said. "I reminded our kids that coach Wacker said his team would win this game and that Wisconsin lost here the last two years. Our kids could have folded, but they responded."

Defensively, ends Casey Dailey and Mike Warren pinched Darkins, the Gophers' Heisman Trophy long shot, to the center of the field, where middle linebacker Pat Fitzgerald frequently nailed him with one of his team-high 12 tackles. Darkins, who rushed for 294 yards against Purdue last week, settled for 75 in 25 carries.

And Sauter, though he completed 29 of 50 passes for 303 yards, was sacked six times, twice apiece by linebacker Tim Scharf and tackle Matt Rice.

It was not, however, simply another victory for the resourceful, swarming defense. Autry and his mates on offense had something to do with it too.

"When Darnell broke that long run, we knew they'd have to pass because they didn't have time for long drives," Rice said. "So up front on the D-line, we teed off on the quarterback. That's the fun part of football."

Rice referred to Autry's third touchdown, a 73-yard dash that put the Cats ahead 27-14 with 12:21 to play. Previously, sophomore Autry scored on an 11-yard run that broke a 14-14 tie in the third quarter and on an 18-yard run that tied it 14-14 with 5 minutes left before halftime.

Actually, the Gophers (3-2, 1-1) decided to abandon their running game and rely on Sauter's passes long before Autry's third TD. In the first half the Cats chased the Gophers out of their run-minded offensive game plan by limiting Darkins to 2.7 yards per carry.

Sauter threw 32 of his 50 passes in the second half.

"Our game plan was almost perfect," Scharf said. "There was one key that was right almost 100 percent of the time. I won't say what it is, because we want Minnesota to beat some other teams."

Barnett said one key for his defense was the number of tight ends the Gophers used. If it was one, a pass was almost certain. More than one tight end meant Darkins was likely to run.

"No, it wasn't formation," Scharf said. "It was more alignment."

Autry piled up for 169 yards in 28 carries, outrushing Darkins by a whopping 94 yards.

"I tried to be as patient as I could," said Autry, who was held to 57 yards in the first half. "That and follow the guys making the blocks." Kevin Peterson made a key pulling block on his long TD.

Gophers coach Wacker and Wildcats cornerback Chris Martin agreed that the big difference in the game was the play of Northwestern's defensive line: Warren, Rice, Larry Curry, Dailey and their backups.

"The biggest difference was their defensive line against our offensive line," Wacker said. "We were not able to establish a running game. Then we were not able to give the quarterback enough protection."

Martin said his defensive line gave "tremendous help to us in the secondary. The quarterback had to throw off his back foot. He did not have time to scan the field."

Dailey and tackle Joe Reiff registered NU's other two sacks against Sauter. Four of the sacks came from defensive linemen. Two years ago, the defensive line made three sacks for the season.